Angella Choe
A close-up of Indigo De Souza.
Indigo De Souza
Part of what makes 25-year-old singer-songwriter Indigo De Souza a singular voice in the alternative rock scene is her willingness to bare her emotions. The result is a nuanced, self-reflective body of work.
Following her performance at Breese Stevens Field last summer in support of My Morning Jacket, De Souza returns to Madison for a headlining performance at The Majestic on May 17. “I feel like I grow at a rapid pace,” De Souza says. “So going back to cities I haven’t been to in a year is important to me because it feels like my live show and the way that I present my art is completely different.”
On her excellent third album, All of This Will End, released in April, she reckons with the fleeting nature of life with a confident sound and vulnerable lyrics.
De Souza draws from her own life in her songwriting, painting vivid moments in a way that feels universally human. That’s a skill that grew after she embraced songwriting at an early age. “Music has always been my closest friend,” De Souza says.
Growing up in small-town North Carolina, songwriting served as her outlet for expressing feelings she was unable to share in her conservative community. “Everywhere else, it wasn’t safe to talk about own my inner world and I felt like music was the only place to do that,” De Souza says.
By age 11, De Souza had already written her first full song. She was influenced by the bluegrass and country music she grew up around as she continued to grow as a musician.
“That really inspired me, and that’s kind of how I learned, playing along with those townspeople. Then I ended up going in a different direction with my sonics.”
All of This Will End finds De Souza at her most earnest and confident yet. The title serves as a personal mantra for De Souza.
“It’s a phrase that shifts depending on who’s reading it and where they’re at in their life, and it feels like it’s always shifting for me,” says De Souza, noting life can be perceived as either meaningless or previous because it’s going to, one day, end. “I just think that’s a beautiful thing that connects all of us.”
The mantra reverberates throughout the 11 tracks on the album, which show De Souza embracing a radical acceptance of life — both the good and the bad. “There's only love/There's only moving through and trying your best/Sometimes it's not enough/Who gives a fuck/All of this will end,” she sings on the title track. It’s a message that she feels is representative of the album.
It’s also a motto that fits De Souza’s attitude toward live shows. Life is fleeting, yes, but she believes in making the most of precious time.
“There’s no telling what can happen in this world. I go on stage giving my absolute all every single night,” De Souza says. “I turn on the well of emotions as much as I possibly can because I want to give the audience truth.”
